Ryan Medicare Vouchers Shift Cost Home Care Path

Congressman Paul Ryan is facilitating legislation to change Medicare to a voucher based program. Medicare receiptients deserved benefits would be guided through private health insurance organizations contracted to accept Medicare money in the form of a subsidy (premium support) for service. Remember the purpose of Congressman Paul Ryans effort is to save the federal government money. Under federal authority the Medicare money would be shifted toward private health insurance organizations who have contracted to provide service. The contract locks the private health insurance organization in to providing service over a defined period of time, at todays cost. Medicare would reimburse the private health insurance plan at todays contracted cost, despite any fluctuation in actual cost. Health consultants expect the actual cost of medical services to continue to rise, often called medical inflation. If the actual cost of providing the service is rising higher than the federal government has agreed in a Medicare contract to reimburse (voucher)the private health insurance organization, the federal government considers this savings. So the private health insurance organization is required under contract to accept the actual cost (medical inflation) increase, while receiving the lower fixed Medicare reimbursement. The private health insurance organization cannot continue to provide the service without increasing revenue through an alternative (private payer) pay source . The proposal Paul Ryan is facilitating may not be economically sound and require changes to quality and quanitity of care to experience continuation. Home Care Path encourages seniors to follow this legislation as it unfolds.